But Is It Art?

Most definitely, says Richard Baker, president of National Realty & Development Corp., who has commissioned five outdoor art installations by artist Richard Maltz (similar to the one below) for five building sites in five states. The components — blocks of Day-Glo painted, stacked concrete masonry — will later be used in the actual construction of the shopping centers. To Maltz, the Five States, Five Sites project is about turning raw materials into art. To Baker, it's a chance to “bring Chelsea-quality art into communities that might not ordinarily be exposed to it,” he says. To the public…well, Maltz and Baker hope it will be many things, but most of all art.